Nerys's Secret
by Lavawater
Summary: Before Nerys opened a weapons shop in Dunbarton, she traveled with a friend. This is the story of how they met and what happened after. Rated M for yuri pairing: Nerys & A Friend of Nerys.
1. Chapter 1: Arrival

**SPOILER Alert:** This story includes content from Nerys's Role-Playing Quests, specifically, "Nerys's Friend's Letter," though the actual quest plot won't be included until much later. So, if this bothers you, start the quest series before reading (by holding two crossbows while talking to Nerys about her private story).

**Yuri/Shoujo-ai Alert:** This story centers around the developing romance between two women. If you're not into that, don't read!

**Disclaimer:** The entire world of Erinn and characters therein all belong to Nexon and devCAT, not me!

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Chapter 1: Arrival

A thick layer of clouds covered the sky, with a promise of rain to come. For the lone woman traveling on foot, this was a welcome change from the suffocating heat of the last few days. Yet, despite the cooler weather, small beads of sweat trickled down from her short red hair.

It wasn't just the heat.

Trying to control her breathing, she crept slowly through the bushes and hid behind trees, taking care not to snag her sheathed short bow on any branches. Her light blue track suit and soft leather boots made no noise on grass and dirt, so long as she was careful where she stepped.

This small wooded area was well known for bears and wisps, and she'd prefer to avoid an encounter. But that wouldn't be enough to get her on the proper path. The reason she'd gone into the woods to begin with was to avoid a certain person. _That stubborn, irksome man… _she thought to herself.

She winced, thinking of the last time she encountered him.

_She had been walking for several hours past midday, and she was tired, hungry and thirsty. Seeing the sign advertising for part-time-jobs, she figured there was a shop nearby. Looking around, she saw a pile of boxes that could have been supplies near a tall, burly lumberjack. She went up to him and asked, "_I suppose you normally sell things for cutting wood, but is it too much to ask for anything to eat or drink? I'll pay a fair price."

_Taking a gulp of water from his canteen, he looked her over slowly, almost leering, then raised his bushy brows as he said, _"Not many people stop by here…Hm… You must be interested in lumberjacks like me, right? What's your name hun?"

_Annoyed, she scowled but answered the question anyway, _"Name's Nerys, not that it should matter. Will you sell me food and water, or not?"

_He grabbed her then and touched her lips with his hand, _"Keep frownin', you'll get wrinkles…C'mere." _She stomped hard on his foot, not really expecting it to do anything, but he bawled as if she'd chopped it off, "_You don't know how to take a joke…I was just bored. It's so dull here by myself_…"_

_In the end, he sold her bread at double the cost and insisted he had no water to sell. She almost took his flask, but decided she didn't want her lips touching anywhere his had been._

The last few feet around Dugald Aisle were blocked by a sleeping red bear. There was no easy way around without backtracking.

So it was that it was already drizzling by the time Nerys dragged her sore feet to Piaras's Inn. Piaras was the sole owner and operator of the small inn of Tir Chonaill, though his daughter Nora took care of the housekeeping.

Nerys looked forward to meeting him. He wasn't the sort to waste time on idle chatter, but always knew exactly what information Nerys considered important: contracts for hunting, and short quests for adventurers. He might look like the serious, settled type, but Nerys knew that he had seen his share of adventuring days as a youth.

At the moment, however, he was having trouble with a small pink-headed girl. She was dressed in a ratty-looking green and blue dress that had been patched over in several places. As she spoke, she gestured angrily at the garment,

"I don't have any money; I just paid your daughter the last of it to– "

"Rooms are for paying customers only. …But you can always go to the church."

"The church! But it's going to rain! Anyway, they don't have beds there!"

"But they'll gladly share what they do have: It's simple fare but free, and a roof over your head."

"How can you expect me to sleep on the floor when I'm already beat up from the rabid foxes all around town!"

Whatever Piaras had been about to say was forgotten as Nerys dropped some gold on his counter. "She can room with me." Then, if a bit belatedly, Nerys faced the girl to add, "—that is, if you're okay with that?"

The girl must have been about 16 years old, not much younger than Nerys, but something about her green eyes and fluffy pink hair seemed innocent and almost vulnerable, despite her feistiness. Shaking her head as if to clear it, Nerys, smiled tiredly as she received the room key from Piaras, then headed up the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2: Close Quarters

There was only one bed…one _small_ bed.

Laughing silently to herself, Nerys toyed with the thought of making the poor girl share with her, but her conscience actually peeped in and put a stop to that. Setting her pack down for a moment, Nerys sat on one of two chairs in the room and indicated that her unexpected roommate should take the other.

"How about introductions, for starters? I'm Nerys, and don't worry, we won't have to share," she grinned.

"S-sh-sh-share?" The girl's face was beat red now, and Nerys couldn't help laughing.

"You noticed there was only one bed, right?"

"I thought, when you said we would room together that you would get a room with two beds…"

"Yeah, well… I forgot this is a cheap inn. You can't blame Piaras too much though. Small town inns don't make a lot of money, so he can't upgrade much. But as you can see, he does keep the building itself in good repair. "

It was true. While other small town inns might let windows chip or doorframes fault, Piaras made sure that the building itself was sturdy and safe. Likewise, his daughter made sure that the curtains and bed sheets were cleaned, repaired or replaced as needed.

Nerys continued, "As I was saying, we won't need to share the bed." Pointing at her pack, Nerys explained, "I carry a camping kit with me at all times. I'll just open it enough to get the sleeping bag out."

"Oh no! I can't let you do that! …I mean, I'm the freeloader."

"Oh? You _want_ us to share the bed?" Nerys couldn't help but smirk; the girl had stumbled into it herself.

"Hey! Don't twist my words. You know what I meant," the girl huffed. When she pouted, her cheeks puffed up and turned red. Nerys noted that it made her look a bit like an actual tomato, but she kept that to herself.

"Then pay more attention. You're wounded, so take the bed. You ought to have spent the last of your money on a healer rather than that dress repair," she rebuked, her steely blue meeting the girl's dark green.

The girl flushed with embarrassment at that. "It's just," she started, "that I had a hole, er holes, in some places…" Since she avoided meeting Nerys's gaze as she said this, Nerys was free to examine the "repairs" more closely. _Patches on the sleeves are most obvious, followed by long stitches across the far sides of the front, not quite hidden by her arms…._ Nerys's eyes widened realizing what the dress must have looked like before the repair.

"Um… my name…"

Nery's flushed, realizing that she had been caught staring, but decided play it off. "Yeah, you never told me your name."

"I don't remember."

Nerys stared at her blankly.

"Seriously, all I remember is waking up near Chief Duncan's house."

"How long ago was this?"

"Yesterday."

"Ookaay, are you saying you have amnesia?"

"mhm…" The girl fidgeted with a piece of loose thread from her dress.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter right now. I'm a bit hungry but it's getting late. I'll just step out to the grocer's and see what I can get. Eh… don't expect much."

At the promise of a meal, the girl brightened. "Please get me something sweet!" she called as Nerys stepped out the door.

Nerys spent the better part of an hour rushing from Chief Duncan's place to Caitin's grocery to Malcolm's general shop before heading back. All had told her the same thing: one moment, there was no one, the next, people were yelling about a dead woman on the ground. It turned out she was only unconscious. After the healer Dilys revived her, however, she remembered nothing else. Duncan saw her last, "She wandered as if in a daze… in the direction of Deian's northern herd."

_She probably got ambushed by a mob of gray or red foxes. She was rambling about that in her argument with Piaras._

Nerys opened her money bag to check the damage. Only 1,200 gold left. She didn't have much gold when she arrived, having spent most of it on repairs and supplies. The room set her back another 100 gold. And now she had just spent 320 gold on this strange girl who was probably just going to hold her back if she didn't think of something soon. _Still, she's a cute kid, "_Get me something sweet_!" she had said. I hope she likes strawberries with cream._

Nerys held the two small boxes of strawberries behind her back as she peeked in the door. She didn't see anyone at first, but stepping all the way in, heard water running. Then, her heart sank as she saw the steam drifting from the bathroom door.

_Looks like I'll have a cold shower to look forward to. _Just as she was placing the boxes on the table, the door slammed open. Nerys's looked up in time to see a wet pink ball hit her chest and knock her on the floor. "You came back!" it said.

"Yeah…" Nerys froze as she felt the other girl's wet body pressed against hers, then finally asked, "Do you have any clothes on yet?"

"What? Silly! Of course I do!" She got up, and sure enough, she was wearing the same outfit she had on earlier, except that it was mostly soaked.

"Do you believe in drying yourself off after a shower?"

The girl was pouting again, "Of course I do, but the showerhead was facing the wrong way when I turned the shower on. It wasn't my fault."

Nerys grinned, "Thanks for the warning. My turn." Nerys grabbed the oversized shirt and a pair of shorts she would wear to sleep. Then remembered to ask, "You didn't use all the towels, did you?"

The girl threw a pillow at her face in response, but Nerys caught it before it hit, so the girl made a face at her instead.

"Okay, help yourself to some strawberries. And you might want to dip them in the whipped cream or you could slice 'em and mix them together."

"You remembered!" the girl's wide smile nearly blinded Nerys, but she blamed it on the steam still rising from the shower.

While Nerys showered, the girl opened the box of strawberries. They looked so familiar for some reason. _Mmmn…sweet! I wonder why Nerys is so nice to me. Most of the other people in town don't care much either way, though no one's mean. I wish I could tell her my name._

When Nerys finally stepped out of the shower, she noticed that the girl had eaten 9 out of 10 strawberries in the box. _I'd thought she'd be starving, being broke. _ She was about to ask, but the girl beat her to it.

"I left one extra for you. I can't give you anything in return for all your kindness you've shown me, so this is my way of showing at least a little bit of thanks…" The girl's head was down, her eyes focusing on a stitch in her dress again.

Nerys didn't know what to say, but she picked up the strawberry, dipped it in a bit of cream, then took it over to the girl, who finally looked up at Nerys. Their eyes locked, and Nerys almost fed the strawberry to her. But she decided it would be more fun to make whipped cream polka dots on her face. Then she ate the strawberry anyway.

In a low voice, teeth clenched, Nerys replied, "Don't take things so seriously, kid. I won't know what to do. But if someone wants to do you a favor, don't spoil it by taking only part of the favor." Nerys tossed the other box over to the girl who was still too stunned to speak. "I got these for you. I already ate while I was out," Nerys lied.

"Thank you," the girl squealed and glomped her again.

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**A/N:** If you haven't already noticed, "A Friend of Nerys" doesn't have a name. This is based on the fact that the role-playing quests for Nerys display her friend as "A Friend of Nerys," without a name of her own, even though the other two characters are named. So, let's see how they'll figure things out, hm?


	3. Chapter 3: Restless

Nerys lay awake for quite some time after they had said goodnight. She hadn't known what to say after the younger girl confessed to having amnesia, so she made a quick excuse to step out for something to eat.

Nerys let out a frustrated sigh. _And by the time I got back, the girl had used up all the hot water. _Nerys shivered as a drop of cold water slid from her still-wet hair while she turned around in her sleeping bag.

Focusing on the girl and her dilemma, Nerys thought, _I would have liked to speak to the healer, too. But… Well, it'd be inconvenient if I took too long and she started asking all kinds of questions. ... And I guess… I don't want her to think I don't believe her. _

_Okay, so then what? _Nerys's mind was flooded with possibilities. _I don't think she's a good fighter if she got beat up by foxes. Maybe I could help her find a regular job around here. Something only she could do… or maybe one of the young men in the village would marry her? _She felt a bit guilty about that one. _Well, maybe not the last thing… anyway, all the guys are either too young or too old for her, I think… Helping her find her family is NOT something that's going to pay off… _

Eventually settling on plan B, she fell asleep.

Nerys was still tired when the first rays of the sun hit her eyes. Groaning, she forced herself up and over to the washroom.

When she returned, she saw that the girl had also woken up. She had already made the bed and as folding the sleeping bag up. She looked up from her work as the door shut, to say, "…"

Nery's raised a questioning eyebrow.

The girl tried again, "Hi….Good morning?"

Nerys didn't reply right away. Something about the girl was off. Her voice seemed shaky and she would meet her eyes. Nerys's eyes narrowed, "What's wrong? Is there something I should know?"

The girl's eyes went wide in shock, "No, it's just that, you only paid for the day right? And well, I don't know what I'm going to do now. Thanks again for the strawberries and cream yesterday, but if I don't figure something out…"

"Oh, that's all?" Nerys had already been thinking about it. "Well, I'm going to work right now. It's not a regular job, so it's important to be there early. I was thinking I would speak to my employers on your behalf, but since you're up, you can just come with."

Owning only one outfit, the girl was ready as soon as she washed up.

Piaras smiled as they descended the stairs and offered them some muffins. "I hope you aren't still upset over yesterday. I had no idea that you were a friend of Nerys. And you understand, I have to make a living, too. Right?"

The girl stopped in mid-grab, so Nerys picked a muffin for her and placed it in her hand.

"To be honest, Piaras," Nerys started, "I had no idea either." She winked, then chuckled, "But maybe you're right." She left Piaras with his mouth hanging open as she pulled the younger girl along with her.

The pink-haired tomato looked at her and stuttered, "D-Did you mean what you said? About me being your friend?"

"Well, maybe... Someone had to say something, especially as he offered those muffins as a sort of apology. I only met you yesterday, but as long as we're spending time together, let's get to know each other, hm?"

The blush faded a bit, but the girl was smiling, "Sure! I think I'd like to be your friend. I don't have any friends yet…that I know of."

_Right, _Nerys thought, _the amnesia. She…probably feels all alone in the world._ Nerys cleared her throat,

"So, er…girl, what am I going to call you?"

"I… don't want another name. I only want my name."

"Okay, yeah, but until you figure out what your name is, what should I call you?"

"…"

"Uh… how about.. Tammy?" _Tammy the tomato, _Nerys thought to herself with a smug little grin. But her companion had stopped walking and stood silent.

Turning her head to face her, Nerys frowned in thought, "Or...you could pick a letter and I'll suggest a name that starts with it?" No response.

"Arrgh! Seriously!" Stomping her feet and flailing her arms about didn't help either. "Fine. Whatever. C'mon you. Let's head to our first job or we'll be late. The healer needs help well before most people are out of bed."

In truth, a walk from the inn to the healer's would make for a 5 min. jog, but Nerys and her newly acquired friend were making the trip at a slow walk on account of the girl's injuries. It took about 15 min. to get there.

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**A/N:** When I started this story, I didn't think it was going to take more than 4 or 5 chapters, but I can see that it will now. I hope to churn out the chapters in a timely manner though.


	4. Chapter 4: Healing

"Over here Nerys!" The healer waved from the end of the long hallway. "I was wondering when you'd stop by! Ah! And you brought a friend!" Almost immediately she noticed how the pink-haired girl was favoring her right side and holding her arms protectively around herself. "Hmm… what's this? Nerys! How could you let a friend get so badly hurt!"

"Dilys, wait! I only—"

"Nonsense, you're always being too hard on others!" The healer said this as she gathered her supplies, each type of ingredient in its own drawer: herbs, base potion, and strips of fabric.

But Nerys was insistent, "Dilys it has nothing to do with me."

Stopping for a moment, Dilys fixed Nerys with a stern glare, placing her hands on her hips. "Are you saying you won't even take responsibility!" she frowned. "I thought better of you."

"No, that's not what I meant!" Nerys was torn. She wanted to state her case, but she felt no matter what she said, it would look like she was lying or being flakey. In the end, expediency won out and she stayed silent.

"Then it's settled." Gesturing to the girl, Dilys continued, "I'll have you healed up at Nerys's expense, so don't worry."

The girl's eyes were wide as saucers.

In spite of herself Nerys found herself smiling a little as she looked on. _Her eyes seem a lighter shade of green when they're all large like that._

"Really..." the girl started, "it's not Nerys's-"

"No, _friend_, she's right," Nerys cut in, "I should have come to Tir Chonaill sooner. And besides, I'm sure Dilys will simply subtract the fee from my check after today's job?" The last part was directed at Dilys, who nodded as she completed applying the wound ointment.

"Oh… and Dilys," Nerys continued, "I was thinking that I…we… should probably learn first aid. Would you teach us afterwards?"

Dilys smiled, "I'm glad to see that I've made an impression. I was right to have high expectations of you, Nerys! But first, I think I'll have you work on the same errand. I'll get extra wool and you'll be able to teach your new partner."

Nerys blinked at that. _So she knew I only met her yesterday!_ But Nerys only nodded and said, "Twenty wools coming up!" But Dilys stopped her.

"Ah… no, Nerys. You've become quite experienced at healer jobs around Uladh. It's 20 bundles of wool for just you. Your friend will need to deliver 10. Oh, but don't worry, I'll pay you extra for the extra work."

A trifle stunned, but determined nevertheless, Nerys stepped through the door with her companion, heading for Tir Grassland to meet with the town shepherd Deian.

Dilys watched them thoughtfully as they left. _I know Nerys too well after all. Maybe I should keep my nose out of it, but it'd be nice if Nerys took the young girl under her wing. And maybe… _But Dilys had no more time to think. A bleeding 10-year-old warrior in full leather armor had just entered with his dead pet. Her work was never-ending.


	5. Chapter 5: Counting Sheep

The early morning sun was still low in the horizon as Nerys exited the healer's house. Shielding her eyes, she looked around for her companion, who was nowhere in sight. Nerys cursed under her breath. _I don't even have any way to call out to her… girl's own fault if she's lost. _

She finally found her at the edge of the town square. "Where did you think you were going?"

Wide-eyed, the younger woman replied, "I thought you were right behind me, but then I couldn't see you, and I didn't know where else to go."

Nerys sighed. Then, leaning over, gently put a hand to her shoulder. "Just don't run off on your own like that."

The girl reached up a hand to touch Nerys's, which was still on her shoulder, then softly smiled, "Thanks for worrying about me."

"Hm," Nerys replied, "I overheard some of what you said to Piaras. And it's not just foxes you should worry about if you go wandering on your own-"

"But I won't," the girl interjected, with a dazzling smile. "You're stuck with me, now." Her words sent a shiver down Nerys's spine.

"For now at least, we have a job to do," Nerys said, almost wondering if they should really part ways after the job.

"Right! How long do we have?"

"She'll start expecting us at 10 am, but she'll give us until 3 pm to report. If we don't make the deadline, we don't get paid."

"Okay, I'll work harder to make up the time we lost," emerald eyes sparked with determination.

Nerys nodded her approval and led the way.

The dirt road from the town square turned into a path that led to a lush grassy slope. Here and there, small patches of white could be seen where sheep gathered in groups of three or four to graze.

Noticing the strangers, the sheep began to bleat. The sheepdogs gazed at them, serious but not threatening.

As they walked up the slope, a thin line of smoke came into view. A young boy wearing a traveler suit with a white shirt and green shorts was failing at making a fire. He glanced them briefly, then turned back to the pile of smoking wood, "You seem like you're about my age."

"How do you mean?" Nerys asked, one hand on her hip.

The boy squints at her, "Oh, not you Nerys. I know you're an old hag. I mean the pretty girl with-" The boy gasps and begins to sputter as Nerys grabs him around the neck.

"Wait! No, Nerys! He's just a little boy. Don't hurt him!" Nerys's hand loosens as she looks at her friends tearful eyes. Glaring back at Deian, she noticed something was off.

He was kneeling on the ground, panting to catch his breath. His face red, but instead of glaring at her or trying to argue, he just looked down at the ground. He seemed almost sad. _Did he actually get his feelings hurt? Maybe it was that comment about him being 'just a little boy.'_

"No, he is not just a little boy. But I'd never really hurt an important business contact. Let me introduce Deian, the young man in charge of Tir Chonaill's sheep." Glancing at Deian from the corner of her eye, she noticed that he picked himself up and was looking at her companion in the eye again.

"Hey, pret-I mean lady, I didn't catch your name…"

"Oh, I'd rather not say."

"Huh? Did Nerys bully you not to tell anyone?"

"No!"

Nery's stepped in front of her friend, deciding to end the conversation. "I didn't come here to trade insults with you, Deian. My companion needs a gathering knife." She flashed him a few gold coins. _ Hmph. Kids are all the same… show them something shiny and suddenly so attentive…_

Nerys managed to talk him down to 40 gold instead of the usual 50, so she felt a little bit proud of herself as she led her partner over to the grazing sheep. But she wasn't quite out of earshot when Deian muttered, "Hnmp! All adults are the same..."

They spent 3 hours collecting Nerys's 20 wool bundles and another 2 hours for her friend's 10 bundles.

Nerys smiled with satisfaction as she sat on her bag to tie it closed. "2 hours for 10 bundles of wool… not bad considering this is your first time."

"Sorry, but its past 10 a.m." her friend said dejectedly.

"You worked hard, right? And it's not past the deadline yet. As long as we get paid, that's all that matters. Let's go!"

Nerys set a quick pace back, driven by visions of her friend in rose-plate armor.

Dilys already had a steady stream of people walking in an out of her house when they arrived at 12:30 p.m., but she waved them over.

"I knew I could count on you Nerys," Dilys smiled. "As promised, here's your 2,410 gold after deducting your payment from earlier." Dilys had deducted a 90 gold treatment fee from Nerys's reward money. _I suppose I should be grateful that she didn't charge me the 'pet' fee, Nerys thought. _The gold was a welcome addition, but Nerys was still a far cry from being able to afford any better gear for herself.

Nerys's friend was jumping up and down, happy to have earned some money, finally. "Thanks so much Nerys for helping me. I couldn't have done this without you! Hey! Let me buy us lunch."

"Sure, and I'll get to introduce you to Caitin at the grocer's."

Caitin was happy to meet the mysterious girl with amnesia, and offered her a cooking lesson. All they could really afford was some bread and cheese, which was just as well since it was easy to make. Nerys leaned back against the wall enjoying the aroma of toasting bread.


End file.
